dragon's blood

1. a deep-red, water-insoluble resin exuding from the fruit of a palm, Daemonorops draco, of the Malay Archipelago, used chiefly in the preparation of varnishes and in photoengraving for protecting certain areas of the metal plate from the acid.

2. any of various similar resins from other trees.

3. See Pompeian red.

[1590-1600]

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▪ resin

      red resin obtained from the fruit of several palms of the genus Daemonorops and used in colouring varnishes and lacquers. Once valued as a medicine in Europe because of its astringent properties, dragon's blood now is used as a varnish for violins and in photoengraving for preventing undercutting of the printing surface during etching.

      Daemonorops draco, a rattan palm native to Malaysia and Indonesia, produces much of the dragon's blood of commerce. Other sources are Dracaena cinnabari of the island of Socotra, east of Somalia; Dracaena draco of the Canary Islands; Croton draco of Mexico; and Croton lechleri of Peru and Ecuador, where it is used locally to heal wounds and as an astringent.

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